Berlinale: China Film Boards European Sci-Fi Pic ‘Iron Sky: The Ark’

China Film Corp. has come on board European sci-fi franchise movie “Iron Sky: The Ark” as a major partner. It will co-finance, co-produce and take Chinese distribution rights.

The film is set to go into production this year – and shoot in Beijing – ahead of a planned release in 2018. The budget is indicated as $25 million.

Timo Vuorensola, who directed the first two installments of the franchise about Nazis regrouping on the moon, is set to direct. Screenplay is by Dalan Musson, Max Wang, Vuorensola and Yu Hongyang.

The film had already been set up as a China-Finland partnership last year when Shanghai Jiabo Culture Development Culture came on board in mid 2016. At the time they promised that there would also be a major Chinese distributor joining them.

Producers now describe the film as a China-Finland-Canada co-production between CFC, Jiabo and Iron Sky Universe, in association with Pan Pan Pictures and Longevity International Enterprises.

"Iron Sky: The Ark” tells the story of two Chinese university dropouts who decode a mysterious message coming from the moon, and discover the secretive Illuminati organization.

The first “Iron Sky” movie was released in 2012. Producers are gearing up to release the second picture, “Iron Sky: The Coming Race” in 2017. It stars Udo Kier, Lara Rossi, Julia Dietze and Vladimir Burlakov.